What does it mean to cleanse your crystal and why should you do it?

When you cleanse a crystal you cleanse/clear it of any negative, heavy or unwanted energies that possess the stone prior to your handle. Examples of when you should cleanse a stone would be: buying your stone brand new, getting it gifted, using the stone in any type of spell/energy work or carrying it all day for an initial intention.

Your crystals take care of you so take care of them! Cleansing your crystals can be so important due to the fact of all the energy they’re absorbing while you work with it, even crystals that just sit absorb energies in its surroundings. If you lack cleansing, you may notice your stone is lacking to help you in your wants or needs, eventually the stone gets so heavy on backed up energy its vibration gets low. When we are working with crystal energy we want a high vibrational crystal so our messages are delivered clearly. There are multiple methods to cleansing your crystals, read on to see which one you’d like to try!

How much you’re using your crystal should determine when you should cleanse it. Set your intention on the stone(s) you’re cleansing when doing so, remember crystal/energy work requires a strong intention. No matter what method you choose, I always tell people to trust their comfort when it comes to the time length of cleansing. Cleansing can take anywhere to a minute to a week, it all depends on how you want to proceed with it.

Incense/herb smoke:

You can use incense sticks of your choice or choose loose herbs and place in a burning bowl or tea light candle holder. Using either option you’ll place the stone in or at the end of the smoke using your intentions, imagine all of the heavy energies leaving the end of the stone. Do this for as long as you feel needed.

Full moon:

Place your stone under the moonlight during a full moon and retrieve back in the morning. During a full moon lunar energy is the most powerful, removing all heavy and stored up energies, restoring a crystal to its highest vibration. If it’s a rainy night on the night of a full moon you can place the crystal inside near a window where it’s still receiving moonlight.

Gypsum (selenite or satin spar):

Gypsum stones like selenite and satin spar are cleansing agents, meaning they can cleanse energies in your surroundings, in other crystals, in yourself & other tools. They can also restore and cleanse their energy on their own! To cleanse crystals with gypsum you can get a flat piece of either stone and place your crystal on it. If you don’t have a flat piece placing your stone near the gypsum will work too. Typically I like to leave mine on for a few hours or even a couple days depending on size, you can leave yours on for however long you feel is necessary.

Sunlight:

Sunlight cleanses and reenergizes. Place your stone on a table or dish outside, you can choose to have them in direct or indirect sunlight. You can leave them out for however long you feel is necessary but be cautious of hot temperature to your stone, it will be hot to the touch. *Also be cautious of how much and how long you’re leaving stones out in the sunlight, long exposure can make softer stones become brittle and lose color in others.*

Water:

You can use sink water or an open body of water like a lake, river or ocean. Using water to cleanse all unwanted energies within the stone, place your stone in the water, allowing the water to clear the energetic muck, you can then leave your stone in the water for seconds or hours and afterwards have a newly cleansed stone. *I don’t recommend doing this or leaving stones in water with a hardness of 5 or less. Leaving stones in water for too long can cause your stone to dissolve or oxidize, if you do decide to put your softer stone in water I suggest a quick dip & dry.*

Dirt:

Using earth energy, you can dig a tiny hole somewhere in your yard and place your stone in for a few hours to a day. As your stone is sitting the earths energy will cleanse and restore your stone to its authentic vibration. This doesn’t matter whether it’s done during the day or night.

Your breath:

Yes you read that right, using your own breath you can cleanse your crystals! I personally always use this method when i’m on the go and need to do a quick cleanse. Don’t forget you are energy! Set your intentions directly on cleansing then take your stone and lightly blow on it, imagining all the heavy, negative energy blowing away from out of it. Do this for however long you feel satisfied with your cleanse.